‘NCIS’ Boss Discusses Potential Return for Pauley Perrette’s Character Abby

After Michael Weatherly returned to NCIS for the Ducky tribute episode, could fans look forward to Pauley Perrette making a grand return? The actress exited as forensic scientist Abby Sciuto in Season 15 of the long-running procedural. While she hasn’t been back since, the series did reference her in the tribute episode by way of showing a wreath for Ducky that was goth-themed and alluded to the fact that it was from Abby.

Now that Mark Harmon is returning to the franchise to executive produce and narrate and Weatherly and Cote de Pablo are starring in a new Tiva spinoff, CBS Studios President David Stapf tells Deadline whether fans will be able to look forward to seeing Abby once again, admitting it’s, “Not a bad idea.”

“We haven’t talked about it or thought about it,” Stapf said. “We love Pauley, and she’s always welcome in any of the NCIS franchise, but it hasn’t come to us from the writers and/or from her. I kind of was kidding when I said, it’s not a bad idea but it’s genuinely not a bad idea, she was a beloved character.”

Perrette made her first appearance as Abby in the JAG backdoor pilot in 2003. Fans last saw Abby towards the end of Season 15 when she left NCIS to start a charity in honor of Clayton Reeves’ mom following his death. Even though Perrette’s exit from involving Mark Harmon, since Harmon left at the beginning of Season 19, there’s always the possibility Perrette would be up to it. She did retire from acting, but you never know what could happen.

Even though there doesn’t seem to be any plans to bring her back, there’s always the possibility. The NCIS franchise is continuing to expand, both on CBS and Paramount+, meaning there are always ideas floating around. It was nice when the series subtly referenced Abby, which showed that not only is NCIS still on her mind, but she is still on their minds. Hopefully she comes back soon, but at least fans can always rewatch their favorite episodes on Paramount+.

Meanwhile, NCIS, which will see some star-studded cameos from NCIS: Los Angeles star Daniela Ruah and NCIS: Hawai’i‘s Vanessa Lachey. With plenty more stories to tell in the franchise across numerous series, there’s no telling what stories will be told and who could pop up.